Schneider-Canet 100mm light QF gun M.
1898
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The
Schneider-Canet 100mm L/50 gun was built throughout of steel. The breech mechanism, of the
concentric-threaded type, had an extra quick-opening action, by which a
rotatory motion could open or close the bore by a single action. It had also
a safety device against accidental firing, and an extractor, which allowed
the automatic expulsion of the cartridge during the opening of the
breech-block. The mounting
was generally similar to that of the 65mm gun, but it embodied a special
mechanism for the training of the gun. In it the inertia of the movable parts
was too great for it to be possible to insure their working with the required
rapidity, by simply acting on the butt-end of the gun. The base was
of cast steel, in one piece, its lower flange being bolted on the deck. Its
central part formed the seating of the fixed pivot; this was of steel, and
its height could be varied at will, owing to the outside threads cut on it.
The pivot bore part of the weight of the slide, and insured besides the
perfect centring of the system. On the top part of the base there was a
horizontal ring, which was continued on the inside by a vertical cylindrical
bearing; this was provided with a gun-metal lining. The whole arrangement was
suitably stiffened. The slide was
of the same shape as those of the 65mm mountings; its bottom part ended in a
step-bearing lined with gun-metal, which clasped the fixed pivot of the base.
The brake, with central counter-rod, was placed under the gun-housing; on the
top part of the latter there were two cylindrical envelopes that contained
the recuperator set of springs. The mechanism
for training the gun consisted of: a.
a horizontal shaft slightly inclined with regard to
the axis of the slide; it was provided with an endless screw worked throught
a set of conical pinions, one pinion being keyed on the handwheel shaft; b.
a circular rack which run round the baseplate; an
elastic coupling was used to control the speed of the various parts in the
training operations. The endless
screw and the circular rack were surrounded by an airtight envelope, easily
removable, to preserve them. The elevating
mechanism, apart from the dimensions, was the same as that of the 65mm gun.
All the removable parts were fitted with an airtight cover provided with a
lubrificator. The gun-housing was fitted with a butt-end, against which
rested the gunner during the service. SOURCE : DREDGE. James: The Works of Messrs. Schneider and Co.
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